Restaurant, hotel workers older than you think, FIU study says

A worker taps a keg of beer at a Duffy’s Sports Grill in North Miami Beach.

Everyone agrees that leisure and hospitality jobs don’t pay well, but the Research Institute on Social and Economic Policy at Florida International University offers a new twist on the low-wage sector: The average age of a Florida worker in the industry is 37.

“Commonly, it is assumed that workers in the hospitality and leisure industry are young adults supplementing a family income,” FIU’s research institute says.

FIU says 50.6 percent of hospitality and leisure workers have some college education, and 46.9 percent have at least one child.

Florida’s hospitality and leisure workers earned a median annual wage of $20,800 in 2013. The hospitality and leisure industry is made up of 1.1 million workers in three industries: arts, entertainment, and recreation; accommodations; food service and drinking places.